Clapper denies wiretap of Trump Tower

Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper on Sunday denied President Trump’s allegations that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower before the election.

During an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Clapper was asked if he would be aware if something like that had happened.

“I would certainly hope so. … Obviously I can’t speak officially anymore,” Clapper said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“But I will say that for the part of the national security apparatus that I oversaw as DNI, there was no such wiretap activity mounted against the president-elect at the time, as a candidate, or against his campaign.”

{mosads}Clapper also said he would know if a court order through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) existed for “something like this.”

“And at this point you can’t confirm or deny whether that exists?” host Chuck Todd asked.

“I can deny it,” Clapper said in response.

“There is no FISA court order?” Todd asked.

“Not to my knowledge,” Clapper responded.

The president on Saturday claimed Obama had his “wires tapped” at Trump Tower before his presidential victory. He laid out the claims without any evidence and questioned whether it was legal for a sitting president to be “‘wire tapping’ a race for president prior to an election.”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Sunday said investigations into Russia’s attempts to influence the election should include the president’s claim that the Obama administration “abused” its investigation powers in 2016.

He said neither the White House nor the president would “comment further until such oversight is conducted.”